Nuances of changing employers during the green card process

Question details

My question is related to green card filing. My green card was filed with Employer A. I have an approved I-140. I moved to Employer B, working on an H-1B valid until April 2023. They have not filed the labor for me yet. My priority date is February 2012. As per the latest visa bulletin I can file for EAD but the final date is September 2011. Currently I am not in the U.S. so I can't file for EAD. I hope to be in the U.S. in the next 4-5 months. Do I need to join Employer A for processing my green card? What would be the best option for me to get the green card without wasting time when I reach the U.S?

ANSWER
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FAQ Transcript

First of all you have to be in the United States to apply for your Adjustment of Status. Secondly in your case, because no new green card was started, your old employer must offer you the same job which you have to go and join eventually in good faith.
You can actually have I-485 filed through a job offer from employer A, the same job which was the basis of your green card. If you don't have that, you cannot file I-485. You can only file for I-485 /Adjustment of Status when your priority date is current and the job that is the basis of the green card is available to you right then. After 180 days of the I-485 pendency, you may never have to join the old employer because you can take a same or similar job anywhere. Just make sure that you have the good faith, honest intention of joining the old employer when you file the I-485. More...

 

 

Note: Where transcribed from audio/video, this is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.

Green Card

Immigration Law

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